Criminal Sentences

News about Criminal Sentences, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 17, 2015

Pres Obama visits El Reno, Okla, prison becoming first sitting president to visit a federal correctional facility, in his quest to gain support for bipartisan overhaul of nation's criminal justice system; meeting with some nonviolent drug offenders in the medium-security facility, he reiterates his belief that United States has meted out overly harsh mandatory minimum sentences to many nonviolent offenders. MORE

Jul. 14, 2015

Pres Obama commutes sentences of 46 drug offenders, bringing total number of commutations for nonviolent offenders during his time in office to 89; moves comes before Obama's planned speech to NAACP in Philadelphia, where he plans to outline proposals for revamping juvenile and criminal justice systems, including sentencing guidelines. MORE

May. 25, 2015

Defense lawyers are deploying biographical videos during sentencing in bid to keep their clients out of jail; videos are aimed at painting fuller and more flattering portraits of clients' lives, and have had success at yielding reduced sentences; proponents say process could transform sentencing, but critics say they favor rich clients over those who cannot afford camera crews and editors. MORE

Apr. 2, 2015

Editorial welcomes letters from Pres Obama commuting prolonged sentences for 22 nonviolent drug offenders in federal prisons throughout country; positions letters within Justice Dept's broader effort to identify and encourage nonviolent inmates to apply for clemency; holds while pardons are good step, more must be done for thousands who languish unnecessarily in overcrowded prisons, and to curb unjustly long sentences that are used to intimidate defendants into pleading guilty. MORE

Mar. 22, 2015

News Analysis; Marc Mauer, director of Sentencing Project, proposed to congressional task force on reforming prison system that prison sentences should be capped at 20 years, with option for adding time if prisoners are deemed dangerous; proposal is unlikely to be adopted, but its efficacy has been bolstered by research that many older criminals are less likely to commit crimes. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

Florida Supreme Court orders new sentencing hearing for Shimeek D Gridine, who was 14 when he receive 70 years in prison without parole for attempted murder during a robbery in 2009; says sentence violates limits on juvenile penalties set by United States Supreme Court. MORE

Mar. 10, 2015

Adam Liptak Sidebar column says Supreme Court will soon consider whether to hear two capital cases in Alabama in which judges overrode juries' sentencing recommendations and sentenced convicted murderers to death; points out Alabama is one of three states allowing judges to reject juries' recommendations in capital cases. MORE

Feb. 23, 2015

Letters from Sens John Cornyn and Sheldon Whitehouse, and from Sen Chuck Grassley, respond to Feb 17 editorial criticizing Grassley's obstruction of federal sentencing reform. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Editorial criticizes Sen Charles Grassley, chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee, for standing in way of bipartisan bills that would reform federal sentencing laws; argues Grassley's opposition to reform is based on mistaken belief that locking up more people leads to less crime; urges lawmakers in both parties to continue to pursue issue. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Op-Ed article by law school instructor JaneAnne Murray argues Adnan Syed, sentenced in Maryland to life in prison for murder, may have been victim of loosely regulated plea-bargaining process; notes Syed may have been sentenced to only 19 years if he had entered guilty plea, but it is unclear if his lawyer requested such an offer; holds United States must bring transparency and independent review to plea-bargaining process. MORE

Nov. 7, 2014

American Civil Liberties Union receives $50 million grant from George Soros's Open Society Foundations; funds will be used to mount eight-year campaign to reduce jail sentences and slash a national incarceration rate that has tripled since 1980. MORE

Aug. 19, 2014

Aug. 11, 2014

Op-Ed article by Prof Sonja B Starr opposes growing trend of evidence-based sentencing, in which courts use data-driven predictions of defendants’ future crime risk to shape sentences; holds practice is deeply unfair and almost certainly unconstitutional; contends punishment should be based on what defendant did, not on group identity or socioeconomic status; warns practice is likely to exacerbate disparities already present in prison system and to ignore defendants' individuality. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

Jim Dwyer About New York column cites report by inmate advocacy organization Osborne Assn that casts doubt on life sentence as population of aging inmates continues to swell, along with costs of keeping elderly locked up; notes study comes at same time as two reports that underscore need for changes to way young prisoners in New York prisons are treated, as well as detrimental effects of use of solitary confinement. MORE

Jul. 22, 2014

Editorial praises United States Sentencing Commission for unanimous vote that will give nearly a quarter of all federal prisoners chance to reduce their sentences by an average of more than two years; argues that bold move will reduce overcrowding, and stands in stark contrast to Congress' persistent failure to address criminal justice reform. MORE

Jul. 14, 2014

Changes in drug sentencing at both federal level and in New York City, which have led to lower punishments for drug couriers, has some law officials wondering whether shift toward leniency in sentencing for drug crimes has gone too far; debate over what constitutes fair sentence for drug crimes has persisted for decades. MORE

Jul. 9, 2014

Vera Institute of Justice study of 222,542 resolved Manhattan prosecutions finds race was a significant factor in setting bail, negotiating plea deals and sentencing; reports black and Hispanic defendants are more likely to be held in jail before trial and more likely to be offered plea bargains that include prison sentence than whites and Asians charged with same crimes. MORE

May. 5, 2014

Op-Ed article by former federal prosecutor Prof Mark Osler calls for an end to pegging criminal sentences in drug crimes to the weight of the narcotics involved rather than the defendant's role in drug operations; contends a good measure of culpability would be amount of profit that any individual takes from the operation of a narcotics ring. MORE

May. 4, 2014

Op-Ed article by author Jo Nesbo contends that revenge is an example of man's sublime capacity for abstract thought; maintains that revenge ensures that misdeeds have consequences that can be a deterrent in the abstract future; notes that the modern legal system is essentially institutionalized revenge. MORE

Apr. 18, 2014

Editorial contends Pres Obama was right to use his clemency power to help Ceasar Huerta Cantu, who was wrongly sentenced to three and half extra years in federal prison due to a typo on his pre-sentencing report; criticizes Justice Dept for fighting Cantu's request to have his sentence corrected in the first place, citing resistance as absurd. MORE

Mar. 10, 2014

Editorial contends California should move quickly to set up a sentencing commission that would recommend systemic, evidence-based and tested reforms; maintains reforms would reduce the prison population and also prevent prisoners from returning to prison after they are released. MORE

Oct. 28, 2013

Editorial notes bipartisan sentencing reforms in number of states have caused prison population to decline by about 3.8 percent since 2009; says underlying state reforms is relatively new and sophisticated way of using data about criminal offenders to assess the likelihood that they will commit new crimes; calls for more states to adopt such data-driven corrections policies. MORE

Sep. 30, 2013

Editorial contends it is past time to revisit practice of sentencing convicts to life in prison without parole, particularly those who have been convicted of nonviolent crimes or crimes that occurred before they turned 18; urges states to encourage more rational sentencing, restore the use of executive clemency and bring parole back into the corrections process. MORE

Sep. 7, 2013

Montana Supreme Court steps in and blocks attempt by Judge G Todd Baugh to resentence Stacey D Rambold, schoolteacher who Baugh had sentenced to 30 days in prison for raping a 14-year-old; state officials are assessing who has the authority to correct the sentencing error. MORE

Aug. 22, 2013

Editorial observes the use of executive clemency has been declining for decades; criticizes Pres Obama for his limited use of pardon power, despite his promises to reform the criminal justice system; contends any meaningful reform of the criminal justice system must include the clemency process, by which the most punitive tendencies of the system are tempered. MORE

Aug. 11, 2013

Editorial warns that the Supreme Court's order to California to release 10,000 more inmates to ease crowded conditions in state's prisons is not enough; outlines ways the state can reform its criminal justice system. MORE

Aug. 6, 2013

Lynne F Stewart, outspoken former defense lawyer and polarizing figure in the criminal justice system, is seeking to have her prison sentence vacated as she battles terminal cancer; Stewart was sentenced in 2010 to 10 years in prison for smuggling messages from followers of terrorism defendant Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman; Federal Bureau of Prisons has rejected Stewart's request for a compassionate release. MORE

Jul. 9, 2013

European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, rules 16 to 1 that life sentences Great Britain handed to three convicted murderers amount to inhuman and degrading treatment because they have no hope of release; ruling deals blow to Britain and is one of several that have annoyed its dominant Conservative Party. MORE

Jun. 18, 2013

Supreme Court issues three 5-to-4 decisions in cases involving criminal suspect's right to remain silent, judges' discretion in sentencing, and lawsuit against trial lawyers over privacy concerns; justices also agree to hear a case on fair-housing laws. MORE

Jun. 11, 2013

Supreme Court rules, in 5-to-4 decision, that courts violate Constitution when they rely on current federal sentencing guidelines if those guidelines call for harsher punishment than what was in place at time of offense. MORE

Jun. 11, 2013

Editorial approves of Supreme Court decision upholding Constitution's ex post facto clause, which states that federal and state governments cannot impose a sentence greater than the one in force when the crime was committed; notes at same time, judges should have flexibility to impose fitting sentences that fall outside strictures of such guidelines. MORE

May. 24, 2013

Jim Dwyer About New York Column holds that Teofilo Ramos, who was caught selling heroin but sent to treatment rather than prison, exemplifies the success of New York’s reform of punitive Rockefeller drug laws; Ramos has earned high school diploma, become certified substance abuse counselor and has never again tested positive for any drugs, success that arguably would not have been achieved with prison sentence. MORE

Apr. 30, 2013

Adam Liptak Sidebar column examines 2010 Supreme Court decision in Graham v Florida, intended to keep juveniles from being sentenced to life without parole; lower courts are split on interpretations, and Supreme Court has rejected appeal from Chaz Bunch of Ohio, sentenced at age of 16 to 89 years in prison, which his attorneys argue is equivalent to life without parole and in violation of Graham ruling. MORE

Apr. 6, 2013

Patrick Bearup, inmate convicted for 2002 murder of local man in Phoenix, receives death penalty for his role despite proof that he was not directly involved in killing, whereas others arrested with him brokered plea deals; his plight exemplifies not uncommon trend in which defendants with less involvement in crime or guilt draw the harshest sentence. MORE

Mar. 18, 2013

Op-Ed article by law Prof Paul Butler laments that poor in America have greater chance of being incarcerated than 50 years ago, when Supreme Court guaranteed legal representation to indigent defendants; places blame on power-drunk prosecutors and tough on crime lawmakers, who have enacted some of world's harshest sentencing laws. MORE

Feb. 19, 2013

Many social scientists feel that tougher prison sentences instituted in 1980s, once thought to help people in poor neighborhoods by reducing crime, have had opposite effect, disrupting lives and locking disadvantaged in cycle of poverty (Series: Time and Punishment). MORE

Feb. 12, 2013

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel calls on Illinois lawmakers to increase minimum sentences for gun crimes in state and require violators to serve bulk of those prison sentences; push comes as one piece of larger effort to stem gang-connected violence that contributed to over 500 deaths in Chicago in 2012. MORE

Jan. 10, 2013

Editorial expresses support for argument presented to Supreme Court by lawyers for Matthew Descamps, who is appealing sentence under Armed Career Criminal Act; contends that it is only right that state convictions be carefully considered if they are used under federal statute to lengthen criminal sentences. MORE

Dec. 22, 2012

Carlton Franklin, now 52, was tried in 2012 for a Westfield, NJ, murder committed when he was 15, but in an extraordinary twist he was tried as a juvenile; sentencing judge will have to decide whether Franklin will be sentenced according to a juvenile code that was in place in 1976, which emphasizes rehabilitation over punishment, or by current state law. MORE

Dec. 12, 2012

Many scholars say mandatory sentencing policies lock up nonviolent, low-level offenders for too long, are no longer a cost-effective way to reduce crime in the United States and may even be promoting it; criticism is resonating with some state and federal officials, who have started taking steps to stop the growth of America's prison population, which is currently at 2.3 million, the highest reported incarceration rate of any country (Series: Time and Punishment). MORE

Dec. 9, 2012

Editorial criticizes Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons for crippling compassionate release, humane and practical program that acts as check on indefensibly harsh sentencing law; outlines ways in which Congress can modify Sentencing Reform Law of 1984 that bolsters much needed program. MORE

Nov. 29, 2012

Supreme Court hears unfocused argument from Louisiana lawyer for Armarcion D Henderson, who is serving a five-year sentence on a gun charge instead of the roughly three-year sentence ordinarily called for; attorney's fumble had the justices in a lighthearted mood and talking about unicorns, as they tried to puzzle out whether her client’s sentence must stand. MORE

Nov. 25, 2012

Editorial observes resentencing process that has begun as result of reforming of California's infamous 'three strikes' sentencing law is revealing degree to which policy led to barbaric treatment of mentally ill defendants; expresses hope that as more cases unfold, judges, lawyers and Californians will look back with shame on injustice inflicted by state on vulnerable populations. MORE

Nov. 22, 2012

Constitutional experts condemn ruling by Oklahoma Judge Mike Norman of Muskogee, who sentenced teenager to attend church regularly for 10 years as part of his probation for driving-related manslaughter; critics say ruling is flagrant violation of First Amendment's separation of church and state. MORE

Nov. 10, 2012

Editorial applauds California voters who approved ballot initiative revising infamous three-strikes law of 1994, which imposed life sentence for defendants with three felony convictions; says revised law, which was long in coming, is vast improvement on measure that was financially burdensome and grossly unfair. MORE

Oct. 14, 2012

Supreme Court ruling to ban life sentences without parole for those under age 18 who are convicted of murder offers hope to more than 2,000 juvenile offenders, but also throws family members of victims into anguished turmoil; situation is illustrated by story of Maurice Bailey, who killed pregnant girlfriend Kristina Grill in 1993 when they were both 15 years old, and whose release Grill's sister Bobbi Jamriska opposes. MORE

Aug. 17, 2012

Research finds that judges who learned that a convicted assailant was genetically predisposed to violence imposed lighter sentences in a hypothetical case than they otherwise would have; study, the most rigorous to date on how behavioral biology can sway judicial decisions, appears in journal Science. MORE

Aug. 12, 2012

Editorial criticizes the juvenile justice system; notes that the California Supreme Court is currently reviewing a case in which a juvenile defendant received a sentence of 175 years in prison; asserts that it is unconstitutional to consider such long sentences simply because they are not labeled 'life without parole.' MORE

Jul. 22, 2012

Greg Ousley murdered his mother and father in Indiana in 1993, at age 14; his rehabilitation and the certainty of his eventual release raise questions about what accomplished by sentencing youth to long prison sentences. MORE